Mind. Body. Spirit. The Pabst Charitable Foundation for the Arts is a leader in fostering awareness and action for the growing belief and field of work that integrates creativity arts, wellness, and health, particularly when illness strikes families.

Our mission, identifying both interdisciplinary and innovative initiatives for impact on community, continues to foster development and research on outcomes that can make a difference for people, especially families challenged by illness.

We support a number of arts and wellness initiatives both locally and nationally. In 2015, the culmination of an initiative bringing together national and local partners resulted in an Arts and Wellness Symposium sponsored by the Pabst Foundation; the event also nationally launched NCCA's Creative Caregiving Initiative and Guide a free online tool for caregivers. We also supported the initial ongoing research at The University of Central Florida and implemented at Share The Care
(See Grantmakers in the Arts article by Margie: CLICK HERE )

We are proud to support the power of creativity and its impact on wellness, particularly for caregivers and families.

Other arts and wellness initiatives supported by The Pabst Charitable Foundation for the Arts include:

- Easter Seals Daybreak Center

- Atlantic Center for the Arts

- University of Central Florida

-Michael Metzner

-Gary Glazner and The Poetry Foundation is a groundbreaking inter generational project focused on
and using The Alzheimer's Poetry Project.

In April, Margie was able to present The Creative Caregiving Initiative at the 31st International Conference of Alzheimer's Disease International in Budapest. The program, presented by the National Center for Creative Aging, is sponsored by The Pabst Charitable Foundation for The Arts.
Alongside Mary Ellen Philbin from Share The Care, which utilizes the CCI, Margie was able to broaden the exposure of the CCI, and show its results to an international audience. Here is Margie and Mary Ellen's presentation:

As we begin 2016, we have a lot to be proud of and many journeys yet to take in supporting artists and institutions as communities work toward innovation, collaboration and wellness for all ages at all stages.

Organizations that we support are listed as either “Success Stories” or “Current Projects.” We invite you to take a look! Here are some highlights of 2016:

The University of Central Florida
Share the Care
Arts and Wellness Symposium
Easter Seals
The Atlantic Center for the Arts
The Cornell Fine Arts Museum
Michael Metzner

In addition, I am proud to serve on the Florid Hospital / Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center Partnership Council. We are drawing up a strategic plan for community arts and wellness initiatives that will serve the mission of supporting all members of our community.

So, what is in store for 2016?

Opportunities abound!! Arts and wellness and creativity for every life opportunities are everywhere, so choosing what to do and where to focus is challenging. As the Pabst Foundation Board reviewed our
opportunities around the country and locally, it became clear that supporting our local initiatives and celebrating our community partners was the right direction to go. Digging deeper with our arts and wellness ambassadors across faith, caregiving, arts, higher education and medical communities right here in Florida and across the Central Florida region is right for so many reasons.

Most important is that while we have developed awareness for the importance of the creativity to health and wellbeing, we have not yet developed sustainable and actions that propel our community into a future of wellness. So, we are doubling down with our key partners listed on this website to further
extend the importance of arts and wellness for every life.

We will continue our intensive association with one national partner, National Center for Creative Aging where we have supported the early efforts in development and research of the Creative Caregiving Initiative. The CCI is continuing to build out to scale with more modules for a variety of diverse caregiving needs; our partners around the country are dedicated to bringing arts to every caregiver's life. The Pabst Foundation is proud to support the CCI as a free, online creative tool for every caregiver.

Please visit our caregiving site at www.mycaregivingcoach.com for specific resources related to “Caregiver Wellness.” There you will find archived radio blogs, radio shows, and so much more.